


Day Seventy || Rigid Beliefs

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [70]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 02:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18085265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: In a country that has been steeped in war for almost a century before he was even born, Sasuke was inundated by their rigid beliefs from birth. But though he loves his homeland, the Fire Nation has been led astray...and it's he - and his new friends - who will right their wrongs, and set things right.





	Day Seventy || Rigid Beliefs

From the time he was young, Sasuke knew exactly what his path through life would be. He was a firebender, son of the Fire Lord, prince of the Fire Nation! Nobility, strength, and purpose ran through his veins. Trained from a young age, there were few who could even dream of besting him. His determination knew no bounds...and it only got stronger once his brother fell ill. The sicker Itachi became, the hungrier Sasuke’s inner flame grew. 

On one hand, he loved his brother more than life itself. Itachi was wise, kind, vastly intelligent and unparalleled in his firebending. But the last was the first to wane as his body began to decline.

...on the other...his country was one of rigid beliefs. Only the strong could survive. Only those who could tame and feed their fire were worthy of a place among them. Between the two brothers, it was Sasuke who - when pressed - had inherited his father’s temper and thirst for power.

As much as he hated himself for it at first...Sasuke knew what that illness could mean. The passing of the crown not to Itachi’s head...but to his own.

And yet, in spite of that unspoken dream, he ravaged the Southern Water Tribes in search of any healer left behind after the raids. He then dragged her to the capital with the lives of her tribesmen on her back should she fail. 

Even in his mercy, he was cruel.

To him, nothing else mattered than Itachi’s health. It was of no consequence how he treated the waterbender. All that he cared about was getting her to his brother, and forcing her to fix what had been broken.

And he would have remained to watch her every move, but Fugaku had another task for him. He had seen his son’s drive. And he planned to use it. It was upon Sasuke’s shoulders that Fugaku placed the task of finding - and capturing - the Avatar. A person most believed had simply ceased to exist. But with their war efforts nearing completion, the Fire Lord refused to take any chances. 

If anyone could find the Avatar...it would be his son and his blazing will.

It was that choice that ultimately became Fugaku’s downfall.

As burned into him as his culture and duty was, forces began to work against Sasuke. He was assigned a crew, among which was his cousin, Shisui. Unbeknownst to anyone, the elder young man was a member of the secretive White Lotus. And he had not yet given up hope for his cousin. Subtly, he worked alongside - and yet against - Sasuke’s mission to find and capture the last airbender. 

At first, the efforts were unnoticeable. Sasuke remained as driven and determined as ever, chasing the Avatar and his new friends across the globe. And with each skirmish - each meeting of fire and air - the foundation of those icon-clad beliefs began to crack...and then to crumble.

Until eventually, they gave way completely, and the shock to his mind - the loss of an identity forged from birth - dropped Sasuke into a severe fever.

When he awoke...he was no longer the boy that served his Fire Lord blindly. Now, he was a young man with a new destiny. A new belief.

He had to help the Avatar...and he had to stop his father. For the sake of the other lands, for his people...and for his brother.

Perhaps even himself.

But his prior behavior meant that wouldn’t be easy. Declaring himself the Avatar’s firebending teacher would not so easily convince them of his change of heart. His actions to that point had spoken far louder than his words. But in the end, they needed a teacher...and he needed a second chance.

Most wary of him had been the waterbender, Hinata. Though her affections for Naruto went unanswered, her dedication to him and his destiny were no less fervent. Her timidity had been left behind after all she’d seen and done the past few months. The weight of the world was atop Naruto’s shoulders...and she would help him carry it. They all would.

Bit by bit, Sasuke’s new path proved his intentions, and they all realized what he had come to know: he was telling the truth, and this was his new purpose. Even Hinata came to trust him...and it was they who rescued Itachi while Naruto defeated Fugaku.

From there...everything changed.

The war was declared over as Itachi took on his title, and forfeited the efforts of his lands to overtake the others. Talks and treaties became the most critical topics between nations, along with Fire Nation reclamation of its deployed troops...and the reintegration of all those displaced by their attempted domination.

And they all had their work cut out for them. Sasuke helped his brother. Naruto and Sakura attempted to reconstruct order in the Earth Kingdom. And Hinata (with Kiba’s help) worked to rebuild the South and ease its returning waterbenders back into their homeland.

For a time, Sasuke was simply too busy to take a step back and think over all he’d done. How much he had changed. Not until he and his brother were invited to the southern pole to witness all they had done to heal.

It was there he was forced to witness the true effects of his nation’s work...and his own. The port that took in the refugees was growing into a major city: something the South had always lacked compared to its Northern sister tribe. The scattered, broken communities were gathered and restructured. The stolen benders were returned home...those without a home to return to were given aid and rehomed in the new city.

And Itachi’s healer was able to see her tribesmen again at last.

That, more than anything, struck Sasuke hard. While his nation as a whole had been a tyrant to the Southern Water Tribe...he and he alone had been  _ her _ tyrant.

It led to a private talk with Hinata. They’d discussed such a topic before, but...not to this depth. It was a jarring reminder of all he had done. All he had wanted. All he had nearly submitted to in his country’s name. In his father’s name.

But it was Hinata who assured him that his deeds after had put him on the right path...and someday, would cleanse him of his past wrongs. They could not be erased...but he could make amends. His change could fuel change in others. His new beliefs could help him see through the eyes that he’d looked down upon.

She gave him hope...and perhaps eased just a touch of the guilt within him. Sasuke knew he still had a long path to walk. But with his brother, and his friends, and...Hinata by his side, he knew he could do it.  _ Would _ do it.

Because she believed in him.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this one's a little short, and more narrative than anything, but I thought the subject would be best explored that way~ This piece also directly references day fifty-nine, if you'd like to read more about the visit to the South talked about toward the end!
> 
> The Fire Nation's parallels to Imperial Japan in the second World War are rather easy to see, and I base a lot of Sasuke's attitude in this crossover on it: pride in his country, its goals, and his father's vision for it...even if that means warring with the idea of losing his brother. The duality of Sasuke's two wants is a major division within him, but eventually the good wins out, and he sees the truth that national pride blinded him to. It's his help - like Zuko's to Aang - that ultimately changes the tide of the war. While he's not without his mistakes - some quite dire - he comes around, and begins to make up for it.
> 
> A big theme with him and Hinata post-war in this verse is their own mending of ties...which then reflects the Fire Nation and Water Tribes learning to live harmony again.
> 
> ...but I'm rambling - I do that when I'm tired xD
> 
> Got more projects to work on before bed, so time to wrap it up! Thanks for reading~


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